Varials have released ‘Where The Light Leaves’, their fourth album via Fearless Records, and it arrives as one of the most ambitious records of their career. Produced by longtime collaborator Josh Schroeder (Lorna Shore, Dayseeker, The Plot In You), the 13-track collection pairs guttural heaviness with new melodic textures, raw performances kept deliberately imperfect to keep the human connection intact. New single “The Hurt Chamber” is a strong example of where the band has pushed their sound, measured and deliberate rather than relentless, with a keys-driven fade out that lands somewhere between haunting and cinematic. Vocalist Skyler Conder cut his vocals in a single take, first try, and the band left it untouched.
Conder explains the track directly: “‘The Hurt Chamber’ is a song strictly about being addicted to a high that is inevitably difficult to break. Whether that be love, drugs, or a certain type of situation, you become blind to what’s happening, all of the bad disappears because it always feels amazing. But it’s doing nothing but harming you throughout every time you become close to it. The ache becomes a salvation of sorts.” That emotional directness has defined Varials since ‘Pain Again’ in 2017, through ‘In Darkness’ and ‘Scars for You to Remember’, and it runs through ‘Where The Light Leaves’ with renewed focus. The tour is underway now with Unity TX, Heavy Hitter, and Boltcutter, running through April.
‘Where The Light Leaves’ Tracklisting:
- Where The Light Leaves
- No Lie Untouched
- Illusions of Loss
- Conscious Collapse
- Your Soul Feeds
- The Hurt Chamber
- [wouldyoufollowme]
- Silent Demise
- Blissful End
- Romance II
- Metanoia
- I’ll Find the Dark
- [intothequiet]
Tour Dates (w/ Unity TX, Heavy Hitter, Boltcutter):
March 28 – Oklahoma City, OK – Beer City Music Hall
March 29 – Austin, TX – Come and Take It Live
March 31 – Pensacola, FL – Handlebar
April 1 – Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade
April 2 – Orlando, FL – The Social
April 3 – Greensboro, NC – Hangar 1819
April 4 – Richmond, VA – Canal Club
April 6 – Baltimore, MD – Ottobar
April 7 – Pittsburgh, PA – Thunderbird Café & Music Hall
April 9 – Allston, MA – Brighton Music Hall
April 10 – Brooklyn, NY – The Meadows
April 11 – Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church